Best of Kornacki: Top 10 Stories from 2016
12/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | General
As the calendar turns to 2017 in a few short weeks, MGoBlue.com feature writer Steve Kornacki once again looks back on his best stories from the last calendar year. Starting Monday, Dec. 12, MGoBlue.com will count down the 10 best stories and include some background from Kornacki on what made each story special. Stories 10-6 will be reissued from Dec. 12-16 and 5-1 from Dec. 19-23.
March 24 // Men's Swimming & Diving
Kornacki Reflects: Eric Namesnik, a two-time Olympic silver medalist, had died 10 years prior from injuries suffered in an auto accident, and I caught up with his wife, Kirsten, and Jon Urbanchek, the legendary swimming coach who viewed him as the son he never had. Kirsten had taken their two children back to raise them in her homeland, the Netherlands. Life was good despite still missing him, and I'll always remember the loving, reverent tones in their voices as they remembered Eric, who both agreed would now be an outstanding college coach.
April 21-22 // Ice Hockey
Kornacki Reflects: Anton Fedorov came to Berenson in hopes of becoming an NHL star, but found what mattered most in life instead. He jumped out of a second-story window in Russia to escape the army, and somehow landed in Ann Arbor, learning a new language and lifestyle from some very dear friends of mine, the Wilkins family, before beginning his college career. They all remain close to this day.
May 6 // Football
Kornacki Reflects: John O'Korn's faith and connection to a young girl who is getting on with school and life despite an incurable developmental brain disorder will warm your heart as surely as it did mine. "God always has the final word," O'Korn told me then. Recently, John texted a photo of Georgia celebrating her fifth birthday that made my day. Spotting the small "G" tattooed on the inside of his left wrist led me to a powerful place where love and compassion matter most.
Dec. 8 // Football
Kornacki Reflects: Jabrill Peppers became just the seventh defensive player invited to the Heisman Trophy presentation as a finalist since the live TV show ceremony began in 1982, and did so in memory of (and at the behest of) his late brother, Don Anthony Curtis. He was raised by a single mother, Ivory Bryant, who used faith, academics and football to mold her son. Watching them enjoy the feel-good day before the Heisman presentation is something that I'll never forget. It was such love, such triumph, such fun. [ Related: Mom, Jabrill Soak In Heisman Weekend ]
March 25 // Ice Hockey
Kornacki Reflects: On the eve of Michigan's 3-2 overtime win over Notre Dame in the NCAA tourney, I spoke to members of the 1996 NCAA champs about how 20 years earlier, in the same Cincinnati rink, they beat Colorado College for the title with a 3-2 overtime win. Brendan Morrison, who drove miles to find cell phone range to talk, scored the winning goal two decades prior at the same spot in front of the same net that Tyler Motte did against the Fighting Irish. It was the best case of déjà vu on ice imaginable.
Oct. 6 // Ice Hockey
Kornacki Reflects: The power of the friendship between Scott Matzka and L.J. Scarpace, strong since they played for Red Berenson nearly 20 years ago, struck me as the essence of what the college experience should be. The one-time roomies rekindled their relationship, and Scarpace is helping Matzka bring awareness for what is known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, while also raising funds to fight it.
June 5 // Softball
Kornacki Reflects: Michigan softball coach Carol Hutchins explained why there's "always crying in softball" after her team's World Series run ended, and she watched her players sign autographs and shed tears before boarding the bus away from a season and experience they never wanted to end.
Aug. 5 // Football
Kornacki Reflects: Michael Hirsch had to leave football at Harvard to receive chemotherapy and deal with a "life-threatening" autoimmune disease. He left a job on Wall Street after recovering and walked on the football team at Michigan this year, catching a 15-yard pass and making a two-yard run in games after making the team. I saw him recently and asked how he was doing. "Living the dream," Hirsch said with a smile.
March 6 // Men's Basketball
Kornacki Reflects: Caris LeVert and Spike Albrecht both got a firm hug on Senior Night from Coach John Beilein, who told both of them the same thing: "Thanks so very much." His voice cracked and the coach was choked up. I spoke with each of them after the game and they were still pretty emotional. They'll always stay in touch, but it would never be the same, and they each realized just how fortunate they were to have been together here.
April 7 // General
Kornacki Reflects: Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel recalled his best friend from his college years, football teammate Vada Murray, who died of lung cancer five years ago. The card given at his memorial service remains with Manuel: "I always carry that card." I knew both as boys, and they grew into powerful men with a powerful friendship that remains in strong spirit.
Best of the Rest
11: The Father-Son Decathlon Record You Have to Read About, May 12
12: How Love of Ice Hockey, U-M Fueled the Connor Legacy, April 12
13: Mike Bottom's Story of Gold, July 19
14: Rickey of Michigan, Feb. 24-25
15: Reminiscing With Graduation Speaker Jim Abbott, April 28
16: All in the Olympic Family, June 20-21
17: How Speight Came to Lead Michigan, Oct. 26
18: Feeling the Family, Love that is the Michigan Softball Dynasty, May 8
19: Peppers is Exceptional, But Here's Why, Sept. 8
20. 130 Receptions Later, Butt Preps for Home Finale, Nov. 18
